Slow and steady wins the tomato

Jul 03, 2026 Last reply: 1 hour ago 3 Replies

After being set out later than intended, half of my tomatoes (4 of



8) got chewed off by something, probably rabbits. But they didn't get them at ground level, so there were secondary buds left for regrowth. They are now looking vibrant despite the heat and lack of rain. And they are finally forming flower buds.

The other 4 are also looking killer and all have small green fruit. If history is any guide, those will ripen fully around the weekend later this month when we are out of town.



These normally deliver sauce sized harvests around early August. Given the late planting in the partly-reclaimed garden, that may be a few weeks later this year. But I'll have sandwiches and salads until then



I'm still finishing off my 2019 pasta sauce. Fresh will be nice. The old sauce is going slowly because I won't feed it to anyone but myself at this point.


Drew Lawson wrote: ...

i just put up tomato chunks because they are very versatile in many recipes.

usually the tomatoes last a year or two at the most before they're gone. i've also downsized from more plants because Mom is not cooking as much. nine plants is enough now and i can usually put up 100-150 quarts of tomato chunks.

a good fence is very important here. i have an ok fence which normally keeps the bunnies and deer away and sometimes the bleeping groundhogs will still sometimes raid. :(

songbird

Awesome!

My one Beef Steak plant have about 15 green tomatoes ranging from the size of golf balls to a few the size of a tennis ball. Three not have a reddish flush on them.

I transplanted them from the store in early May and had a freeze come through a mess it up pretty bad. It did eventually recover, but it is only catching up now.

Do you fertilize yours? If so, with what?

-T

Not a lot. My soil is ugly, but generally delivers pretty well. There is a bunch of previous years' mulch mixed in. That may provide something, but certainly not nitrogen at this point. It mostly helps moisture retention.

When I put them in the ground I put some bone meal and blood meal in the bottom of the hole. I assome that mostly helps with shock and early growth.

In the past, I've used some organic glop -- Neptune's Garden or such -- but haven't this year. I misplaced my watering can and haven't shopped for another.

I may yet pick that up for the non-tomatoes that are still pretty small.

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